This is a unique book for law students struggling with the lack of time to both learn the law and practice their essay writing. The author has passed four bar exams and can help you lose your fear of law school and bar exam essays and achieve your potential.
The book includes
•the author’s actual July 2015 Florida Bar Exam essays,
•thorough discussion on the use of IRAC format for essays (Issue-Rule-Analysis-Conclusion),
•detailed instruction on Legal Analysis with examples of how to discuss seemingly mundane aspects of fact patterns to demonstrate lawyer-like analysis and get full credit,
•explanation and examples of how to avoid the bane of ‘conclusory’ analysis in your essays,
•17 complete essays on Article 2, all using IRAC many times over,
•essays include a helpful introduction explaining themes and main points, and an index of Article 2 UCC provisions cross-referenced to the answer,
•innovative formatting of questions and answers allows for the reading and studying of the essays with no preparation,
•the essays focus on difficult aspects of Article 2 avoided by many commercial bar outlines but tested on bar exams.
Plus a review of 50 State Bar Websites and why every law student should be familiar with the websites of Arkansas, Florida, Oregon, Pennsylvania and four other states.
Review from Kirkus Reviews.
“In his first book, author Donnelly provides a general tutorial for the aspiring lawyer studying for the bar exam. Donnelly clearly states three primary objectives. First, he wants to improve the test taker’s overall essay writing skills. To this end, Donnelly furnishes an excellent discussion of the well-known IRAC
format (Issue-Rule-Analysis-Conclusion), helpfully explaining both its effectiveness and limitations as a paradigm. Second, Donnelly focuses on Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code, a topic that often arises on the bar exam but gets short shrift in other preparatory manuals and courses. Finally, the author directs the reader to myriad free online resources for studying for the bar, including the websites of the National Bar of Conference Examiners. He astutely reviews the websites, itself a valuable service. The emphasis on sharpening writing skills also expands the utility of the volume; as Donnelly notes, “The sooner the student can develop a strategic methodology with which to approach essay exams and develop their expertise with writing essays, the more rewarding their law school experience will be.” Donnelly is a lawyer who has passed four different bar exams, so he writes confidently from the perspective of successful experience. Maybe the most profitable aspect of the work is the extended discussion of what Donnelly calls the “exam paradox,” or the problem presented by the pulverizing mountain of material a student must learn within tight time constraints in order to be ready to pass the bar. Even the student faithfully dedicated to his studies can, and likely will, neglect some material that will appear on the exam. Donnelly sketches out a reasonable strategy for apportioning one’s time, which involves taking seriously practice exams while also acknowledging the potential pitfalls to overemphasizing them. This is a lucidly written handbook that covers an extraordinary amount of ground given that it is intended to be a “short book with a narrow focus.” An excellent supplement to any bar-examination study regimen.”
Christopher J. Donnelly holds a J.D. from The University of Pennsylvania and an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University and is a member of the bar in California, Florida, New Jersey and New York. Mr. Donnelly was a highly-regarded securities analyst for over twenty years and has published many articles under the banner of his different employers. He holds a Series 7 and Series 63 securities license and is a fully-qualified FINRA arbitrator. The author welcomes questions, comments and criticism of the book at lawexamessays@gmail.com.
The book includes
•the author’s actual July 2015 Florida Bar Exam essays,
•thorough discussion on the use of IRAC format for essays (Issue-Rule-Analysis-Conclusion),
•detailed instruction on Legal Analysis with examples of how to discuss seemingly mundane aspects of fact patterns to demonstrate lawyer-like analysis and get full credit,
•explanation and examples of how to avoid the bane of ‘conclusory’ analysis in your essays,
•17 complete essays on Article 2, all using IRAC many times over,
•essays include a helpful introduction explaining themes and main points, and an index of Article 2 UCC provisions cross-referenced to the answer,
•innovative formatting of questions and answers allows for the reading and studying of the essays with no preparation,
•the essays focus on difficult aspects of Article 2 avoided by many commercial bar outlines but tested on bar exams.
Plus a review of 50 State Bar Websites and why every law student should be familiar with the websites of Arkansas, Florida, Oregon, Pennsylvania and four other states.
Review from Kirkus Reviews.
“In his first book, author Donnelly provides a general tutorial for the aspiring lawyer studying for the bar exam. Donnelly clearly states three primary objectives. First, he wants to improve the test taker’s overall essay writing skills. To this end, Donnelly furnishes an excellent discussion of the well-known IRAC
format (Issue-Rule-Analysis-Conclusion), helpfully explaining both its effectiveness and limitations as a paradigm. Second, Donnelly focuses on Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code, a topic that often arises on the bar exam but gets short shrift in other preparatory manuals and courses. Finally, the author directs the reader to myriad free online resources for studying for the bar, including the websites of the National Bar of Conference Examiners. He astutely reviews the websites, itself a valuable service. The emphasis on sharpening writing skills also expands the utility of the volume; as Donnelly notes, “The sooner the student can develop a strategic methodology with which to approach essay exams and develop their expertise with writing essays, the more rewarding their law school experience will be.” Donnelly is a lawyer who has passed four different bar exams, so he writes confidently from the perspective of successful experience. Maybe the most profitable aspect of the work is the extended discussion of what Donnelly calls the “exam paradox,” or the problem presented by the pulverizing mountain of material a student must learn within tight time constraints in order to be ready to pass the bar. Even the student faithfully dedicated to his studies can, and likely will, neglect some material that will appear on the exam. Donnelly sketches out a reasonable strategy for apportioning one’s time, which involves taking seriously practice exams while also acknowledging the potential pitfalls to overemphasizing them. This is a lucidly written handbook that covers an extraordinary amount of ground given that it is intended to be a “short book with a narrow focus.” An excellent supplement to any bar-examination study regimen.”
Christopher J. Donnelly holds a J.D. from The University of Pennsylvania and an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University and is a member of the bar in California, Florida, New Jersey and New York. Mr. Donnelly was a highly-regarded securities analyst for over twenty years and has published many articles under the banner of his different employers. He holds a Series 7 and Series 63 securities license and is a fully-qualified FINRA arbitrator. The author welcomes questions, comments and criticism of the book at lawexamessays@gmail.com.
